Johannes van Oort

AUGUSTINE’S CONFESSIONS
TEN STUDIES

SUPPLEMENTS TO VIGILIAE CHRISTIANAE 188.

Leiden-Boston: Brill 2024.


CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

ABBREVIATIONS

CHAPTER ONE: GNOSTIC-CHRISTIAN AND CATHOLIC-CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALITY IN AUGUSTINE’S CONFESSIONS

Introduction; 1. Augustine’s Confessions; 2. Augustine and the Gnostic-Manichaean concept of God; 3. Augustine and the Gnostic-Manichaean sacred meal; 4. Augustine’s Confessions as an offering (hostia, sacrificium); 5. Augustine’s Confessions as a spiritual document; 6. Conclusion.


CHAPTER TWO: AUGUSTINE AND MANI’S ICON (CONF. 3,10-11)

1. Rereading conf. 3,10-11; 2. Conclusions from conf. 3,10-11; 3. Did Augustine really see Mani’s Icon? 4. The problem of Against Faustus 20,9; 5. Final remarks.

CHAPTER THREE: MONNICA’S BISHOP AND THE ‘FILIUS ISTARUM LACRIMARUM’ (CONF. 3,21)

1. Introduction; 2. Where and whence?; 3. Monnica’s bishop: a. the bishop’s identity; b. ‘ … paruulum a seducta matre sua datum fuisse manichaeis …’; c. ‘… et omnes paene non legisse tantum uerum etiam scriptitasse libros eorum …’; d. ‘… sine illum ibi. (…) ipse legendo reperiet, quis ille sit error et quanta inpietas’; 4. ‘Vade (…) a me; ita uiuas, fieri non potest, ut filius istarum lacrimarum pereat’: a. the bishop’s words, their background and import; b. Monnica’s tears and the tears of the Manichaean Mother of Life; c. a note on the ‘iuuenis splendidus’; d. Augustine redeemed ‘de hac profunda caligine’; e. biblical quotes and Manichaean reading; f. ‘… istae lacrimae …’ and their meaning; g. ‘… filius … lacrimarum …’; 5. Conclusion.

CHAPTER FOUR: A NOTE ON ‘SUBSTOMACHANS’ (CONF. 3,21)

Introduction; 1. ‘Substomachans’; 2. Taking into account the Manichaean background; 3. Julian of Eclanum’s remark; Conclusion.



CHAPTER FIVE: AUGUSTINE’S DE PULCHRO ET APTO (CONF. 4,20-27)

Introduction; 1. The Manichaean work’s literary form and dedication to Hierius; 2. The Manichaean work’s speaking of ‘Beauty and Harmony’ and focus on the ‘corporeal’; 3. ‘Not able to see my Spirit’: not able to attain the true Gnosis; 4. Virtue and vice, unity and division; 5. Monad and Dyad; 6. Augustine’s Manichaean Dyad: anger and lust; 7. Anger, lust and the nourishment; 8. Once again: a fully Manichaean treatise; 9. A strikingly ‘Manichaean’ finale?; 10. One again: ‘Pulchrum’ and ‘Aptum’; ‘Decus’ and ‘Species’; ‘Monas’ and ‘Dyas’; Conclusions and final remarks.

CHAPTER SIX: ‘GOD’ IN AUGUSTINE’S CONFESSIONS (CONF. 1-7)

1. Introduction: The very first sentences of Augustine’s Confessions; 2. Analysis of the first sentences; 3. God not ‘material’ but ‘triadic’/‘trinitarian’; 4. Stages on Augustine’s way to a spiritual concept of God (conf. 3-6); 5. The essential stage: Augustine’s discovery of a merely spiritual understanding of God (conf. 7); Conclusions.


CHAPTER SEVEN: AUGUSTINE’S CONVERSION (CONF. 8,13-30)

Introduction; Brief survey of previous research; Structure of the chapter; I: Manichaeism explicitly mentioned in Augustine’s conversion story; II: Manichaeism implicitly present in Augustine’s conversion story: a. Augustine’s introductory confession (conf. 8,16) and Manichaean confessional practice; b. The role of Ponticianus (conf. 8,14-18) and the Manichaean xweštr/xwēštar; c. Augustine’s ‘morbus concupiscentiae’ (conf. 8,17) and the Manichaean Āz; d. Likely Manichaean elements in conf. 8,18-21; e. The two wills; Augustine’s ‘consuetudo’; the Manichaeans’ ‘conuenticulum’ and Bible (conf. 8,22-27); f. The ‘antiquae amicae’ and Lady Continence (conf. 8,26-27); g. Augustine’s conversion 1 (conf. 8,28): the profound reflection; the tears; the fig tree; the ‘wretched cries: cras et cras’; h. Augustine’s conversion 2 (conf. 8,29): ‘ecce’; the voice and the Manichaean Call and Answer; Courcelle on the voice; the boy or girl; i. Augustine’s conversion 3 (conf. 8,29): ‘de uicina domo’; the ‘codex’ and the ‘mensa lusoria’; ‘tolle lege’; the ‘puer an puella’ again; Rom. 13; j. Augustine’s conversion 4 (conf. 8,30): ‘mater’ Monnica and the Manichaean Maiden; Final remarks; Conclusions.


CHAPTER EIGHT: GOD, MEMORY, AND BEAUTY (CONF. 10,1-38)

1. Introduction; 2.1. Book 10 and its division; 2.2 The opening passage (conf. 10,1); 2.3 Beginning the search for God in memory (conf. 10,7ff.); 2.4 God and the five senses; 2.5 God and memory: conf. 10,12-13 and Kephalaion 56 compared; 2.6 ‘Great is the faculty of memory’ (conf. 10,26), but God transcends it (conf. 10,37); 2.7 God as Beauty (conf. 10,38); 3. Conclusions.

CHAPTER NINE: CHRIST AS GOD’S HAND (CONF. 1-13)

1. An overview of the texts from Augustine’s Confessions, with brief interpretation; 2. Summary and preliminary conclusion; 3. Notes on God’s Hand in the pre-Augustinian tradition; 4. Conclusion.

CHAPTER TEN: SIN AND CONCUPISCENCE IN AUGUSTINE’S CONFESSIONS  (CONF. 1-13)

Introduction; 1. Sin and concupiscence in Augustine’s early years; 2. Sin and concupiscence in Augustine’s early adolescence; 3. Sin and concupiscence in Augustine’s later adolescence; 4. Sin and concupiscence in Augustine’s early manhood and the time of his conversion in Milan; 5. Sin and concupiscence in Augustine’s present state; Conclusions and final remarks.



MAIN BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX OF WORKS OF AUGUSTINE

1. Confessiones
2. Other works

This essay is written in view of the heartbreaking crisis in the Middle East, especially the terrible Gaza war. What did the influential (and for many still authoritative) church father Augustine think about Israel and Jerusalem? From his entire oeuvre, the texts in which he discusses Israel and Jerusalem have been examined. The conclusion is that he considers their material significance to be of only temporary value: he emphasizes their ‘spiritual’ and ‘eternal’ significance. In close connection with his view of salvation history, Augustine never speaks of a lasting land promise for Israel in Palestine: the true Israel is a spiritual entity, as is the true spiritual Jerusalem. Based on his Christian views, Augustine would reject any Zionist zeal for present-day Israel and Jerusalem; and, a fortiori, any current war practice.

… focuses on the first section of the Shepherd known as the Book of Visions, which narrates Hermas's visionary experiences in first-person voice. (…) argues that enactive reading can help to generate immersive experiences of Hermas's visions and explain the success of the Book of Visions among ancient readers. Cognitive approaches also highlight how modern scholars, who are trained to read apocalypses 'against the grain' in their search for historical or theological information, fail to notice and appreciate the very things that made apocalypses engaging to a broad range of ancient readers and hearers': Introduction: Seeing the Shepherd with New Eyes; 1. The Popularity of the Shepherd of Hermas in the Ancient World; 2. Taking a Look at Hermas; 3. Sticky Thoughts that Make Presence from Absence; 4. Experiencing the Journey; 5. Immersion in the Narrative World of Apocalyptic Visions; Conclusion. Lafontaine, Xavier, Hellénisme et prophétie: Les Oracles sibyllins juifs et chrétiens (Semitica classica, Supplementa 4), Turnhout: Brepols 2023, 366 pp., ISBN 978-2-503-60796-2, € 90 (hb).-Beautifully executed book in large format; dissertation University of Strasbourg and La Sapienza, Rome; directors Rémi Gounelle and Gianfranco Agosti: 'L'étude formelle de la collection de textes juifs et chrétiens transmis sous le nom d'Oracles sibyllins met en évidence la continuité du modèle de la prophétie biblique tout en soulignant l'héritage de la poésie didactique grecque. L'intérêt de cette approche est de situer les Oracles sibyllins comme un objet littéraire dans le contexte de la production littéraire versifiée grecque contemporaine, ce qui implique, de la part de leurs rédacteurs successifs, une familiarité avec les formes poétiques grecques liée à une formation scolaire commune. L'étude des réécritures d'épisodes bibliques vise à identifier les passages où la Sibylle fictive prétend annoncer les événements du passé biblique et à confronter ces séquences narratives aux théories rhétoriques contemporaines de la paraphrase pour mettre en valeur la technique formelle qui les traverse et l'interprétation de l'hypotexte biblique qu'elle présume. La majeure partie des réécritures conservées dans le corpus est compatible avec la doctrine majoritaire au III e siècle de notre ère'. Longenecker, Bruce W. & David E. Wilhite (eds.), The Cambridge History of Ancient Christianity, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2024, xv + 698 pp., ISBN 978-1-108-422739-5, £ 140 (hb with jacket).-'The first three hundred years of the Common Era witnessed critical developments that would become foundational for Christianity itself, as well as for the societies and later

Epistula consolatoria o De consolatione in aduersis (CPL 999) es un texto tradicionalmente impreso entre las obras latinas del (…) Basilio Magno. Se trata de una adaptación cristiana de la consolatio antigua que adopta la forma de una carta dirigida a un genérico frater para ofrecerle consuelo ante la adversidad-en particular, ante la enfermedad y, específicamente, la lepra-y concienciarlo de que la adversidad es el castigo divino del pecador y un estímulo para el justo. El interés de una nueva edición es triple. Por un lado, en el aspecto textual, se ha empleado por primera vez el códice 275 de la Biblioteca municipal de Angers, que constituye el mejor testimonio de la tradición manuscrita. Su lectura permite, en segundo lugar, un examen detallado de la lengua de la obra, que presenta las particularidades propias del latín merovingio. Por último, las abundantes citas bíblicas pertenecen todavía en su mayoría a la Vetus Latina e incluyen versiones y pasajes de gran valor. El estudio de fuentes, lengua y tradición manuscrita permite deducir que no se trata de una traducción del griego, sino de una obra genuinamente latina, compuesta en época tardoantigua (s. V-VI) probablemente en la Galia'.

Mani and Augustine: collected essays on Mani, Manichaeism and Augustine gathers in one volume contributions on Manichaean scholarship made by the internationally renowned scholar Johannes van Oort. The rst part of the book focuses on the Babylonian prophet Mani (216-277) who styled himself an 'apostle of Jesus Christ' , on Jewish elements in Manichaeism and on 'human semen eucharist' , eschatology and imagery of Christ as 'God's Right Hand'. The second part of the book concentrates on the question to what extent the former 'auditor' Augustine became acquainted with Mani's gnostic world religion and his canonical writings, and explores to what extent Manichaeism had a lasting impact on the most in uential church father of the West.

The essay discusses the main topics of ‘Augustine and the Jews’. It opens with the question where, according to Augustine, the name ‘Jew’ comes from. It then proceeds to his use of the designations ‘Hebrew’ and ‘Israelite’ parallel (and partly in contrast) to ‘Jew’. Mainly according to The City of God a brief biblical history of the Jews is outlined. Augustine’s theological valuation of the Jews turns out to be partly positive, but mainly negative. The same applies to the (rather often discussed, but frequently misunderstood) ‘sign of Cain’. The analysis of Aduersus Iudaeos shows Augustine’s ‘provocation’ of the Jews. By and then in the course of the overview, the question of Augustine’s (likely) ‘anti-Judaism’ is briefly dealt with. Finally the essay discusses Augustine’s acquaintance with ‘real’ i.e. contemporary Jews, draws some conclusions, and presents a concise overview of subjects requiring further research.

After discussing the so-called Ham myth in South Africa, my focus is on the African church father Augustine (354-430). All texts from his immense oeuvre in which he mentions biblical Ham are reviewed in their chronological order. In Against Faustus the story of Noah and his sons is mainly explained as being christological: Ham figures as a type of the unbelieving Jews who consented to the murder of Christ, but he is also a type of the Jews because he is 'the slave of his brothers' carrying the books by which the Christians may be instructed. Later Augustine corrects his confusion of Ham with the slave Canaan. The story of Ham (and Canaan) is most extensively discussed in the City of God. Neither here nor in the Expositions on the Psalms is Ham described as being black or a slave. The same goes for a number of his other writings. In Augustine's late works Against Julian and Unfinished Work against Julian he thoroughly goes into the question why (although Ham sinned) 'vengeance was brought upon Canaan'. Augustine perceives God's prophecy: from Canaan stems the cursed seed (semen maledictum) of the Canaanites. Nowhere, however, he claims that Ham or his descendants would have been cursed to be black, or that all of his offspring were condemned to slavery. Having concluded that the Ham myth does not occur in Augustine, I briefly consider whether the 'mestizo' African Augustine might have been extra sensitive to questions of race and colour.

The article provides a survey of the development of Manichaean studies over the past 450 years. Since the last few decades in particular, one may speak of "Manichaeology" as a new and rapidly developing new discipline of the human sciences. This survey and critical assessment aims to introduce into the discipline, at the same time stressing the recurrent discussion about the importance of Iranian and/or (Jewish-)Christian elements as the core of Mani's message that became a unique Gnostic world religion.

A New Reading of Augustine's Conversion Story (conf. 8,13-30) IntroductIon Much has been written about the event commonly known as "Augustine's Conversion." Accordingly, it could seem audacity rather than scientific acumen when writing about it again. Yet I believe there are novel and even essential data to be reviewed. In this essay, I especially want to bring original insights from the nowadays significantly developed "Manichaeology" into the scholarly discussion. To approach my topic as precisely as possible, I explore the following: • (I) Where in his conversion story does Augustine more or less explicitly mention Manichaeism? This section will be limited to tracing and briefly commenting on the relevant texts;

When reading through Augustine’s Confessions, one notices a striking variety of descriptions of God. The aim of this paper is to discern and—as far as possible—to interpret these various descriptions. Our main focus will be on pivotal texts from Books 1, 3, 5, 6 and 7. They document how much Manichaean views played a part in Augustine’s quest, and how closely this quest was linked to his ideas about evil. Briefly stated, Augustine’s search went from anthropomorphic-spatial thinking about God to corporeal/material-spatial and even panentheistic ideas and then (mainly under the inspiration of Neoplatonic philosophy, i.e. in all likelihood Plotinus’ Enneads) to a strictly spiritual and non-spatial understanding. But in all this, Manichaean ways of thought and even concepts remained present until the end.

I do not intend to give a complete overview of 'Manichaeology' (my term) as it has developed over the past centuries. Of course a selection should be made. I limit myself to a number of highlights. 2 The first significant study on Manichaeism as a religion appeared in 1578. It was a work by Cyriacus Spangenberg entitled: Historia Manichaeorum, de furiose et pestiferae huius sectae origine. The author's perspective is clear from the title: History of the Manichaeans, on the origin of this mad and pestiferous sect. The Lutheran theologian Spangenberg mainly bases himself on the Panarion of church father Epiphanius; his exposition stands entirely within a heresiological frame existing since the Church Fathers of the early Christian centuries. 3 The perspective is no better in another important work from around 1600, the famous Annales Ecclesiastici of Cardinal Cesarius Baronius. His innovation is that he brings in a new source to study the origin of Mani's religion, namely the Acta Archelai, which value has been discussed so much, even until this very day. 4 A century later, the famous Gottfried Arnold published his Unpartheyische Kirchen-und Ketzer-Historie (1699-1700). Arnold was a devout Lutheran Pietist. Against all the biased opinions of his time he tried to understand and even justify Manichaeism. His position was that the cruel Catholic Church used to persecute all true believers, including the Manichaeans. 5 We encounter something of that point of view in the first Manichaeologist who can rightly bear this title: Isaac de Beausobre. His huge two-volume work in folio appeared in Amsterdam in 1734 and 1739, and is still reprinted today: Histoire critique de Manichée et du Manichéisme. At the 1997 IAMS Congress in Berlin, I told a number of things about him,

PART ONE: STUDIES ON AUGUSTINE: CONFESSIONS, SERMONS, LETTERS & DE HAERESIBUS; AUGUSTINE ON GRACE & PLURALISM; AUGUSTINIAN 'GNOSIS';  PART TWO: STUDIES IN MANICHAEISM: ORIGINS & MYTH; DOCTRINES & CULT; DIFFUSION & ART; PART THREE: STUDIES IN MANICHAEISM AND AUGUSTINE: DOCTRINES; POLEMICS & DEBATES; PART FOUR: STUDIES IN 'OTHER GNOSTICISM': GNOSTICISM & APOCRYPHAL TEXTS; SOURCES OF (PS.) HYPPOLYTUS; GOSPEL OF JUDEAS; YESIDI GNOSTICISM

SELECTED PAPERS FROM THE FIRST SOUTH AFRICAN CONFERENCE ON AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO, UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA, 24-26 APRIL 2012. CONTRIBUTIONS BY JASON BEDUHN, JACOB ALBERT VAN DEN BERG, MAJELLA FRANZMANN, THERESE FUHRER, IAIN GARDNER, ANDREAS HOFFMANN, ANNEMARE KOTZE, JOSEF LOESSL, JOHANNES VAN OORT, NILS ARNE PEDERSEN, GIJS MARTIJN VAN GAANS

The earliest Christians – all of whom were Jews – spoke of the Holy Spirit as a feminine figure. The present article discusses the main proof texts, ranging from the ‘Gospel according to the Hebrews’ to a number of testimonies from the second century. The ancient tradition was, in particular, kept alive in East and West Syria, up to and including the fourth century Makarios and/or Symeon, who even influenced ‘modern’ Protestants such as John Wesley and the Moravian leader Count von Zinzendorf. It is concluded that, in the image of the Holy Spirit as woman and mother, one may attain a better appreciation of the fullness of the Divine.

John Calvin (1509–1564) started his career as a thoroughly trained humanist who possessed, in addition, a thorough knowledge of the Fathers of the Church. This article provides an overview of this particular knowledge. It also focuses on the use Calvin made of the patristic argument in both his instructive and apologetic writings. Some evident cases of Calvin’s misuse of the patres are discussed as well. It is concluded that Calvin’s special patristic knowledge gave his theology its special hallmark and still links authentic Calvinism with the church’s catholic tradition through the ages.

This article dealt with the church father Augustine’s view on history and eschatology. After analysing the relevant material (especially his City of God and the correspondence with a certain Hesyschius) it was concluded that, firstly, Augustine was no historian in the usual sense of the word; secondly, his concept of historia sacra was the heuristic foundation for his idea of history; thirdly, the present is not to be described in the terms of historia sacra, which implies that he took great care when pointing out any instances of ‘God’s hand in history’; fourthly, the end times have already started, with the advent of Jesus Christ; fifthly, because of the uniqueness of Christ’s coming, it runs counter to any cyclical worldview; sixthly, identifying any exact moment of the end of times is humanly impossible and seventhly, there is no room for any ‘chiliastic’ expectation.

This article introduces the reader to the newly discovered Gospel of Judas (Codex Tchacos, pp 33-58): It discusses its sensational (and evidently sensationalized) discovery, its place in the context of a number of other writings in Codex Tchacos and the main lines ...

Abstract: This article firstly investigates in what way various main theological figures in the first centuries of the Christian era spoke about the Trinity and thus, also, about the Holy Spirit. Secondly, it investigates how the formulas of Early Christian confessions of faith ...

- Oort, J. van, Otto Wermelinger and G. Wurst (eds.), Augustine and Manichaeism in the Latin West. Proceedings of the Fribourg –Utrecht International Symposium of the IAMS (Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies XLIX), Leiden-Boston-Köln: Brill 2001, 337 pp.; REPRINT LEIDEN-BOSTON 2012.

Abstract

We only know Augustine’s lost work De pulchro et apto from his Confessiones. In conf. 4,20-27 he slightly lifts the veil that hangs over its content. The present essay examines the possible subject matter of De pulchro et apto within the context of Augustine’s former Manichaeism. Apart from the Confessiones, other writings of Augustine seem to shed light on the content of his former Manichaean work. But most important to unravel the topics of Augustine’s first writing appear to be some genuine Manichaean sources. This extensive search for the content of De pulchro et apto ends up with twelve conclusions.

Résumée

Nous ne connaissons l’œuvre perdue d’Augustin De pulchro et apto que par ses Confessions. En conf. 4,20-27 l’auteur lève légèrement le voile qui plane sur son contenu. Cet essai s’interroge sur le sujet possible du De pulchro et apto dans le contexte du passé manichéen d’Augustin. En dehors des Confessions, d’autres écrits d’Augustin semblent éclairer le contenu de son premier œuvre. Mais le plus important, pour démêler les sujets traités par ce premier ouvrage d’Augustin, reposer sur des sources manichéennes. Cette recherche approfondie du contenu de De pulchro et apto aboutit à douze conclusions.

Indices preceded by a Manichaean Bibliography, with special emphasis on Terms and Concepts: Bibliography of Manichaean Sources 555; Index of Manichaean Sources 559; Index of Works of Augustine 567; Index of Biblical Texts 579; Index of Other Ancient Sources 584; Index of Ancient and Modern Names 588; Index of Terms and Concepts 603-612.

Studien zur Rezeption der Christologischen Formel von Chalkedon Patristic Studies, 4 Editors: van Oort J., Roldanus J. Year: 1998 ISBN: 978-90-6831-984-2 Pages: X-223 pp.; Price: 29 EURO

What about Chalcedon? It stated that Jesus is God and man in one person, ‘perfect both in deity and humanness’. Flatly reject, ‘simply’ accept? Anyway, food for thought (and maybe more) in these days ...


Summary: Das Konzil von Chalkedon (451) wirkt weiter, auch heute, in der theologischen und ökumenischen Diskussion. Was ist da beschlossen worden ? Wie verlief die Rezeption der christologischen Formel von Chalkedon in Ost und West ? Und : Wie verhält es sich mit Chalkedon im ökumenischen Gespräch heute ? Von diesen Fragen her und auf sie eingehend diskutierte die Praktische Arbeitsgemeinschaft während ihrer von der Universität Groningen organisierten Tagung. Im vorliegenden Buch sind die folgenden Vorträge aufgenommen : Ekkhard Mühlenberg, Das Dogma von Chalkedon : Ängste und Überzeugungen Hanns Christof Brennecke, Chalkedonese und Henotikon Karl-Heinz Uthemann, Definitionen und Paradigmen in der Rezeption des Dogmas von Chalkedon bis in die Zeit Kaiser Justinians Johannes Roldanus, Stützen und Störenfriede : Mönchische Einmischung in die doktrinäre und kirchenpolitische Rezeption von Chalkedon Dietmar Wyrwa, Drei Etappen der Rezeptionsgeschichte des Konzils von Chalkedon im Westen Dorothea Wendebourg, Chalkedon in der ökumenischen Diskussion.

Book discusses many aspects of Early Christian Ethics as being based,  on the one hand,  on Biblical and other Jewish themes and concepts, and on the other hand on Greek and Roman ethical ideas and behaviour. With focus on Jewish and  Hellenistic virtues; Clement of Alexandria and Plato ("Sing on the child in you'!); second century Christian ethics; Christian ethics in Constantine's laws?; the Christian ethics of 'Becoming/ Being equal to God'  and Rene Girard's mimetic theory.

PREDIGT IN DER ALTEN KIRCHE
Series: 
Patristic Studies, 3

Editors:  van Oort J., Mühlenberg E. Year: 1994
ISBN: 978-90-390-0301-5
Pages: 134 p.
Price: 30 EURO
Summary:
Zur Beschreibung der Geschichte der Predigt in der Alten Kirche ist noch viel Forschungsarbeit erforderlich. Dieses Buch mit Studien von bekannten Spezialisten will dazu einen Beitrag leisten. Aufgenommen sind die folgenden Aufsätze: Ekkehard Mühlenberg (Göttingen), Augustins Predigen; Christoph Schäublin (Bern), Zum paganen Umfeld der Christlichen Predigt; Eric Junod (Lausanne), Wodurch unterscheiden sich die Homilien des Origenes von seinen Kommentaren ?; Winfried Stoellger (Hannover), Johannes Chrysostomus bei der Predigtarbeit; Hans Georg Thümmel (Greifswald), Materialen zum liturgischen Ort der Predigt in der Alten Kirche; Ekkehard Mühlenberg (Göttingen) und Johannes van Oort (Utrecht), ‘Predigt in der Alten Kirche’: Rückblick und Ausblick. Der Index zeigt daß in diesem Band außer einigen hervorragenden Repräsentanten der Kirche in Ost und West auch das pagane (rhetorische) Umfeld und der liturgische Ort der Christlichen Predigt ausführlich zur Sprache kommen.

This essay draws attention to the possible role of Hermetic writings in the spiritual development of Augustine (354-430). It first places his knowledge of Hermetica within the context of both 'orthodox' African Christianity (Tertullian, Cyprian, Arnobius, Lactantius) and contemporary 'gnostic' Manichaeism. After that, it focuses on his dealing with Hermetic writings, ideas and expressions in writings such as the Confessions, the (now lost) On the Beautiful and the Harmonious, and Against Faustus. In Augustine's later writing On the City of God, one finds a twofold (or even: dual) appreciation of Hermes, which had its particular bearing on subsequent centuries.

This essay focuses on the question: Was Julian of Eclanum (c. 380-454) right in accusing Augustine of still being a Manichaean, based on his view of sexual concupiscence and the transmission of (original) sin? In order to find an answer to this (still hotly debated) question, a sketch of Augustine's acquaintance with Manichaeism is first provided. Thereafter follows the (first ever) overview of the Manichaean doctrines of the origin of sexual concupiscence, its distinctive features, and its role in the transmission of sin. The third part of the article focuses on the essentials of Augustine's views of sexual concupiscence and the transmission of original sin, in particular as they were expounded (and further developed) in his dispute with the 'Pelagian' bishop, Julian of Eclanum. It is concluded that, in particular, Augustine's stress on the 'random motion' (motus inordinatus) as typical of the sinfulness of the sexual concupiscence is strikingly similar to the Manichaean views on the subject. In this respect, then, Julian seems to be right. Finally, some preliminary remarks are made on early Jewish and Jewish-Christian views of sexual concupiscence and (original) sin which may have influenced not only Mani and his followers, but also Augustine and his precursors in the tradition of Roman North Africa.

Review of Samuel N.C. Lieu, Manichaeism in the Later Roman Empire and Medieval China (Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 63), Tübingen: Mohr 1992, XXII and 370 pp. ---First published in Vigiliae Christianae. A Review of Early Christian Life and Language 47 (1993) 297-303, slightly revised. Because Lieu’s book still is a standard work and has not been reprinted, for the benefit of present-day readers I also kept most of my remarks on details unchanged.

The article analyses the rather unknown and understudied Testimonium de Manichaeis sectatoribus. This Pseudo-Augustinian text has come down to us in two Latin manuscripts (one from Saint Gervais, Paris; the other from a Vatican codex) and elucidates the place and role of women among the Manichaeans of Roman Africa. Differences between the MSS lead to the conclusion that the text seems to have undergone some 'masculinisation' in the course of its tradition. In its-in all probability-most original form, i.e., in the MS from Saint Gervais, Manichaean women appear to have played a major role. On the basis of the Testimonium it may be suggested that-at least in Roman Africa-female Manichaeans were (re)named with names that were highly symbolic to the 'Religion of Light'.

Keywords: Testimonium de Manichaeis sectatoribus-women-Manichaeism-Augustine of Hippo-persecution-Early Christianity-Roman North Africa-religious (re)naming

Review of Jessica Kristionat, Zwischen Selbstverständlichkeit und Schweigen. Die Rolle der Frau im frühen Manichäismus (Oikumene: Studien zur antiken Weltgeschichte 11), Heidelberg: Verlag Antike 2013.

In 1935, the pre-eminent specialist Hans Jakob Polotsky, then still in Berlin, published his famous article ‘Manichäismus’ in Paulys Real-Encyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft. He remarks that Augustine’s works rank among the most important sources on Manichaeism.  As far as I am concerned, this remark fully stands the test. During the past years, I have investigated a number of Augustine’s writings in order to determine the extent of his knowledge of Manichaeism.  By and large, his information has turned out to be very reliable  and—as we will see—it sometimes even testifies to a unique expertness. It is in the context of this research that some passages of De haeresibus (in fact, its opening sentences, in their context) will be analysed.

At this Academia.edu place the abstracts, handouts, papers in progress and full papers of the Pretoria conference ‘Manichaeism and Early Christianity’ will be uploaded, corrected, expanded etc. in the upcoming weeks and months. The list of contributors and their contributions will be updated on a regular basis. All scholars are welcome with comments and suggestions. The selected papers are scheduled to appear in early 2020 in a separate volume of the Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies (Brill Academic Publishers, Leiden-Boston).

Since Isaac de Beausobre inaugurated the study of Manichaeism,  several theories have been drawn up about its origins. Ferdinand Christian Baur, for instance, suggested that the Buddhist elements prevailed in Mani’s religion;  Konrad Kessler and several others (among them the highly influential Adolf von Harnack) stressed its being dependent upon Babylonian religious traditions;  in the wake of the impressive discoveries at Turfan and Tun-huang in the first decades of the twentieth century, many scholars emphasized its Iranian elements.  In those days, Richard Reitzenstein saw in one of the then recently discovered Manichaean hymns (it was only a small fragment) an important proof of the so-called ‘Iranische Erlösungsmysterium’, which in his view had been taken over by Mani.  Soon after that, the discovery of Coptic Manichaean texts in Egypt again drew the attention to the Gnostic-Christian elements in Manichaeism.
Since so many divergent opinions have been put forward by such eminent scholars, it seems almost hazardous to call attention to quite another aspect of Mani’s religion. One is strongly invited, however, by the evidence of the texts. Without pressing them (so I hope) into a one-sided interpretation scheme—and fully aware of the fact that Manichaeism can not be explained by unravelling its supposed constituent elements, but should be considered as an original creation of Mani’s own genius—I would like to focus here on its Jewish and Jewish-Christian (that is, in all likelihood, Elkesaite ) elements.
I am not the first to do this and, I suppose, will not be the last. Yet the present state of Manichaean studies seems to require a more or less systematic treatment of precisely this aspect. Although it seems to be at odds with several anti-Jewish utterances in Manichaean texts, in nascent Manichaeism Jewish elements played a major role.

The present article deals with Roger Gryson’s reconstruction of Tyconius’ lost Commentary on the Apocalypse (CCL 107A), his subsequent French translation of this reconstructed Commentary (CCT 10), and the English translation Tyconius, Exposition of the Apocalypse by Francis Gumerlock, with long introduction and ample notes by David Robinson (FoC 134). After having reviewed the strenghths and weaknesses of each of these publications, the article concludes with a discussion of the signifiance of Tyconius’ Commentary for the question of the origin of Augustine’s two civitates doctrine.

The article focuses on the question: Was Julian of Eclanum (c. 380-454) right in accusing Augustine (354-430) of still being a Manichaean, based on his view of sexual concupiscence and the transmission of (original) sin? In order to find an answer to this (still hotly debated) question, first a sketch of Augustine’s acquaintance with Manichaeism is provided. After that follows the (first ever) overview of the Manichaean doctrines of the origin of sexual concupiscence, its distinctive features, and its role in the transmission of sin. The third part of the article focuses on the essentials of Augustine’s views of sexual concupiscence and the transmission of original sin, in particular as they were expounded (and further developed) in his controversy with the ‘Pelagian’ bishop, Julian of Eclanum. It is concluded that, in particular, Augustine’s stress on the ‘random motion’ (motus inordinatus) as typical of the sinfulness of the sexual concupiscence is strikingly similar to the Manichaean views. Here, then, Julian seems to be right. Finally, some preliminary remarks are made on early Jewish and Jewish-Christian views of sexual concupiscence and (original) sin which may have influenced not only Mani and his followers, but also Augustine and his precursors in the tradition of Roman North Africa.